


Maybe This Time

by msobsessivecompulsive



Category: 24 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 19:25:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2240619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msobsessivecompulsive/pseuds/msobsessivecompulsive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Karen realizes she's in love with Bill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe This Time

It was a simple moment, really. When Karen Hayes realized she was in love with Bill Buchanan.

It had been another one of those days. Not as terrible as the day President Palmer had been assassinated, when Charles Logan was arrested…when Miles had betrayed her. 

But as she left her office, she felt the familiar exhaustion seeping in, the caffeine wearing off. How long had she been at the office today, 14? 15 hours? She opened the door of her SUV and closed it, taking a moment and resting her head on the steering wheel. She took a deep breath and sat back up, glancing at herself in the rearview mirror as she adjusted it.

Dark circles. Greying hair at her temples. Wrinkles. She ran a hand through her hair, slightly upsetting her bun as she put the car into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot.

She arrived unannounced at his apartment 30 minutes later, holding up Chinese take-out as he opened the door. She didn’t think she would ever grow tired of the way his face lit up when he saw her. He stepped aside as she walked in, depositing the food on the kitchen table.

They ate in companionable silence, passing the box of rice back and forth as they hunched over two stacks of papers. He had dark circles under his eyes too. Of course if today had been hell for her it had been hell for him. She glanced at her watch and rubbed a hand over her eyes.

As if on queue, they closed their files in unison, picking them up and carrying them up the steps to his bedroom.

It felt normal to her, this routine. Her apartment felt strange to her now, lonely. She didn’t sleep well there anymore, it felt like something was missing. She’d begun to avoid it, to make excuses to stay over. They had been dating only four months (was it five?) yet it felt right to her, her pantsuits next to his dress shirts in the closet. Her jewelry on his dresser. Her toothbrush next to his. 

Karen settled the stack of papers on her lap in bed, leaning her back against the headboard. Bill shut the light off in the bathroom, padding her and climbing in beside her, pulling the covers up to his lap, and grabbing files from the desk beside him. Karen yawned briefly and then a shiver suddenly went down her spine.

Bill turned to her. ”Are you cold?” He asked, glancing down slightly at her, his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

She wasn’t sure what it was. The attentive look in those deep, blue eyes. The look of concern that briefly crossed his features. His pause at the thought of her discomfort.

But she just knew. Tears prickled the back of her eyes as she smiled briefly and quickly turned back to her work. ”No. Just a brief chill.”

Won’t be long now, the familiar voice mocked her, hollowly bouncing around her head. Won’t be long now until he grows tired of you too.

He reached an arm out towards her, as if sensing her uneasiness, and she snuggled up beside him, resting her head between his shoulder and his arm.

"I’m glad you stayed," he rumbled quietly, his voice throaty from exhaustion.

She hummed in response, pushing her anxiety down to the dark space within her for another time. Allowing that quiet hope to bubble to the surface, that she had locked away deep within.

Maybe this time, it whispered, breathing life back into her.

Maybe.


End file.
